Illustrative image (Source: VNA) A national-level conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 7 to deliberate measures to promote gender equality policies in ethnic minority-inhabited areas for 2016-2020.
Jointly organised by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs, and the Vietnamese Women's Union, the event offered a chance for delegates to share experiences in carrying out programmes and policies on gender equality promotion and empowerment of ethnic women in 2011-2015, and discuss priorities and orientations for the next five years.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister-Deputy Head of the Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs Hoang Xuan Luong emphasised the gender-related pressures facing ethnic women, which requires efficient measures to cope with.
Vu Phuong Ly, a senior UN Women expert on gender equality programme, highlighted the great achievements Vietnam has gained in gender equality.
However, she said that Vietnamese women in general and ethnic minority women in particular still face numerous difficulties in accessing education, healthcare, and basic social welfare.
Therefore, including gender in development policies for the ethnic-inhabited areas, promoting the involvement of women from ethnic minorities in offices that can decide major issues of the country and locality, and designing comprehensive measures are significant to ensure these areas’ sustainable development.
To address gender equality, it is necessary to pay attention to the interaction between men and women, as well as the real situation of each locality, and the culture of each ethnic group, said participants at the conference.-VNA
